To be honest, I'm a bit disappointed with how the whole Fiatjaf doxxing unfolded. It reinforces some conclusions I've been considering:
  • Protecting your private information is solely up to you. Society will even help spread information you want to keep private if it creates profit... bad actors will be incentivized and supported to do it (oh, it's just journo doing their work).
  • While most will help, those who can help the most will remain silent publicly to protect their future options (or are too busy with their own issues).
  • Instead of focusing on solving problems, it's often better to selfishly advance your own interests and leave injustices for altruistic (and regular) individuals to handle.
  • Negative outcomes (like your doxxing gaining more attention) are way more likely than positive ones (such as your private information being removed).
For nym developers, this leads to a pessimistic outlook: expect to be doxxed once your contributions reach a certain level. You won't be able to keep your private life untainted. Individuals will find ways to drag you into unwanted territory - following their programming to make the information free. If your contributions reach the level where professional doxxers start noticing you, expect to be labeled a Nazi or something equally absurd.
The only positive outcome I see is to kill your identity while you're ahead. If you've received enough through your contributions to comfortably leave, absolutely do that. Even staying in touch with a few trusted people isn't advisable, as professional doxxers can exploit those connections and twist information.
Anything else feeds into the fiat clown world we're part of. Satoshi really did it well—contributed, gave it all away, and then quit while he was ahead.
Despite this perfection, there are still idiots out there saying things like "If you meet Satoshi on the road, kill him." This just shows how power-hungry and programmed for competition most people are. Plan for that and protect your privacy.
Behind this mask there is more than just flesh. Beneath this mask there is an idea... and ideas are bulletproof.
-V for Vendetta
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expect to be doxxed once your contributions reach a certain level.
Yes, this so much. Me wearing a mask has mostly just become a statement about privacy. I have no illusions about being able to hide my identity forever, especially not against state level actors; assuming I want to continue operating meaningfully in this space under this nym. Even @Car told me that everyone at @PlebLab gets doxxed at some point.1
I also honestly don't know how to transition away from the mask since the mask is annoying but it feels like a part of my online identity now. I also don't want to simply give up the uphill battle of keeping my private life separate from my bitcoin life. You could almost say I am waiting for someone to dox me so I can take off the mask, lol.
Privacy isn't dead but it has a price you need to pay.

Footnotes

  1. Not sure if he was just joking though, lol.
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I for one don't care at all who you are. And I mean that in a privacy-preserving way! I would love you know you IRL, but 100% respect your desire for privacy.
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8 sats \ 9 replies \ @ek 10 Jun
Well, I do introduce myself to people as ek without a mask on conferences or in @PlebLab so not showing my face online is just a way to limit exposure.
So it's not like it's impossible to know me IRL :)
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👀 but how can I verify that unmasked ek is the @ek
22 sats \ 0 replies \ @Car 10 Jun
Meant face to nym @ek, not the business insider type lol
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @OT 11 Jun
If you leave like Satoshi it doesn’t mean that someone might come looking years later and then expose the nym.
Don’t we just need to be more careful with setting up and using the nym? (BTW I’m not a nym here) Like if someone is exclusively on nostr, without any email or phone linked it might be pretty hard to find them. The more platforms you’re on with the more links the nym becomes easier to find.
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It just is so hard to remain private nowadays. I could pull a doomberg and not show my face ever, but I do want to build a brand. Who knows, maybe in the future we will have public images that are fake, and private images which are real. I hate when people dox. Horrible thing to do to someone - especially if they have a family.
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